Top Baby Names of 1943

Most popular names for boys and girls in 1943.

What the Data Says About 1943

The Social Security Administration's national 1943 file shows 2,037,851 births concentrated in the top 100 boy and top 100 girl names, the segment of U.S. baby-name data released to the public for that year. The #1 boy name of 1943 was James, with 80,275 births registered nationally. The #1 girl name of 1943 was Mary, with 66,176 births nationally. The top 100 boys captured 1,091,997 births compared with 945,854 for the top 100 girls — consistent with the historical SSA pattern in which a smaller pool of boy names dominates a larger share of annual births while girl names are more evenly distributed.

1943 sits within a specific era of U.S. naming trends. Mid-century years like 1943 fall within the post-war baby-boom era; total U.S. birth volume was higher than today and a relatively small set of names (Robert, James, Linda, Mary) dominated national rankings. James and Mary leading 1943 fits this broader cultural signature.

These rankings come directly from Social Security Administration card applications and represent approximately 96% of all U.S. births in 1943. Names with fewer than five occurrences nationally in 1943 are excluded from SSA's public file to protect privacy, meaning the true number of unique names given in 1943 is significantly larger than any public top-100 list can show. Each spelling variation is counted separately — Sophia and Sofia, Aiden and Ayden — so rankings reflect only the specific spelling filed on the SS card, not combined name pools. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute naming advice.

← 1942
1943
1944 →

Top 100 Boys' Names Boy

Rank Name Births
1 James 80,275
2 Robert 74,890
3 John 68,928
4 William 55,904
5 Richard 46,338
6 David 37,243
7 Charles 36,630
8 Thomas 32,874
9 Ronald 29,240
10 Michael 24,745
11 Donald 24,420
12 Larry 22,979
13 Joseph 22,827
14 George 21,692
15 Kenneth 19,112
16 Gary 17,868
17 Jerry 17,729
18 Edward 17,713
19 Paul 17,249
20 Dennis 14,114
21 Frank 12,245
22 Raymond 11,392
23 Gerald 11,368
24 Roger 10,772
25 Daniel 9,168
26 Walter 9,035
27 Harold 8,671
28 Douglas 8,235
29 Stephen 7,931
30 Arthur 7,785
31 Henry 7,631
32 Lawrence 7,583
33 Carl 7,473
34 Jack 7,397
35 Joe 7,307
36 Willie 7,180
37 Billy 7,011
38 Roy 6,931
39 Peter 6,877
40 Ralph 6,771
41 Wayne 6,763
42 Jimmy 6,444
43 Albert 6,306
44 Anthony 6,200
45 Fred 6,168
46 Bobby 6,121
47 Eugene 5,902
48 Howard 5,739
49 Terry 5,737
50 Harry 5,720
51 Bruce 5,430
52 Johnny 5,382
53 Louis 5,033
54 Stanley 4,699
55 Leonard 4,617
56 Norman 4,522
57 Philip 4,473
58 Steven 4,267
59 Dale 4,234
60 Earl 4,186
61 Ernest 4,172
62 Samuel 4,142
63 Francis 4,068
64 Melvin 4,068
65 Bill 3,989
66 Marvin 3,939
67 Alan 3,855
68 Clarence 3,854
69 Patrick 3,848
70 Frederick 3,840
71 Ronnie 3,826
72 Don 3,816
73 Russell 3,752
74 Leroy 3,740
75 Jim 3,682
76 Allen 3,626
77 Tommy 3,612
78 Alfred 3,445
79 Andrew 3,351
80 Eddie 3,282
81 Phillip 3,251
82 Barry 3,193
83 Martin 3,080
84 Ray 3,063
85 Glenn 3,053
86 Herbert 3,043
87 Tom 2,910
88 Danny 2,898
89 Gene 2,866
90 Mike 2,803
91 Lee 2,789
92 Bernard 2,744
93 Steve 2,684
94 Clifford 2,666
95 Jimmie 2,628
96 Theodore 2,616
97 Victor 2,616
98 Gordon 2,608
99 Timothy 2,578
100 Curtis 2,525

Top 100 Girls' Names Girl

Rank Name Births
1 Mary 66,176
2 Barbara 43,432
3 Patricia 39,621
4 Linda 38,439
5 Carol 31,685
6 Sandra 25,990
7 Judith 25,214
8 Sharon 24,713
9 Nancy 23,987
10 Betty 21,596
11 Carolyn 20,364
12 Shirley 17,816
13 Judy 17,383
14 Margaret 17,153
15 Karen 16,816
16 Joyce 16,486
17 Donna 14,914
18 Susan 14,888
19 Dorothy 14,794
20 Janet 13,316
21 Joan 13,232
22 Kathleen 12,153
23 Elizabeth 11,644
24 Diane 11,326
25 Virginia 10,846
26 Janice 10,651
27 Marilyn 10,144
28 Helen 9,800
29 Martha 9,705
30 Gloria 9,684
31 Frances 9,448
32 Beverly 9,435
33 Ruth 9,369
34 Bonnie 8,870
35 Brenda 8,436
36 Jean 8,096
37 Ann 7,829
38 Alice 7,648
39 Phyllis 7,609
40 Doris 7,127
41 Peggy 6,512
42 Carole 6,506
43 Lois 6,132
44 Jane 6,032
45 Marie 5,978
46 Elaine 5,965
47 Charlotte 5,482
48 Catherine 5,427
49 Joanne 5,269
50 Rose 5,207
51 Geraldine 5,189
52 Rita 5,011
53 Evelyn 4,912
54 Pamela 4,839
55 Gail 4,810
56 Wanda 4,705
57 Sally 4,659
58 Norma 4,541
59 Connie 4,512
60 Joann 4,463
61 Patsy 4,355
62 Diana 4,337
63 Jo 4,300
64 Anna 4,231
65 Jacqueline 4,189
66 Roberta 4,169
67 Ellen 4,152
68 Eileen 4,092
69 Annie 4,070
70 Louise 4,044
71 Sarah 3,990
72 Sue 3,850
73 Darlene 3,774
74 Dolores 3,698
75 Kathryn 3,647
76 Mildred 3,626
77 Sylvia 3,623
78 Katherine 3,616
79 Marjorie 3,608
80 Anne 3,535
81 Kay 3,493
82 Ruby 3,470
83 Glenda 3,403
84 Christine 3,315
85 Irene 3,299
86 Suzanne 3,280
87 Rebecca 3,270
88 Dianne 3,193
89 Loretta 3,169
90 Arlene 3,145
91 Juanita 3,085
92 Sheila 3,063
93 Paula 3,042
94 Lorraine 3,015
95 Julia 2,973
96 Marcia 2,969
97 Rosemary 2,967
98 Anita 2,952
99 Delores 2,930
100 Theresa 2,929
← 1942
1944 →

Nearby Year & Decade Rankings

Compare 1943 with adjacent years and the surrounding decade

1942 Top Names
National top 100
1944 Top Names
National top 100
1940s Decade
Decade-level rollup
All Rankings
Browse ranking types

Compare 1943 leaders: James vs Mary → or pick any two names →

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

Source: SSA Baby Names Methodology — names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are excluded to protect privacy.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details.